The present disclosure relates to a gas turbine engine and, more particularly, to a thrust bearing system for a high pressure compressor section of the gas turbine engine that helps engine efficiency by decreasing slop or play of a rotor shaft of the gas turbine engine.
A gas turbine engine includes rotating spools or rotor shafts with blades that compress air needed for operation. In some designs, a single thrust bearing supports the rotor shafts in the compressor. One of the major goals in gas turbine engine fabrication is to optimize efficiency of the compressor and the turbine so that work is not lost. Tip leakage between the blades and the surrounding case is a significant source of engine inefficiency.
In previous gas turbine engine designs that included a single thrust bearing in the compressor, slop or play would occur between the rotor shafts and the stationary case. This play between the rotor shafts and case is problematic because such play may result in the blades rubbing into the surrounding case or rub strip thereby creating larger gaps between the blade tips and the surrounding case and increasing tip leakage and engine inefficiency. In some cases, the play of the rotor shafts can also create gaps between many of the components in the compressor and/or turbine sections of the gas turbine engine that can also cause air leakage and decrease engine efficiency.
Some prior art engines include a roller bearing assembly in addition to the thrust bearing assembly to help dampen and reduce the play of the rotor shaft. In some cases, the roller bearing is damped by pressurized oil. However, delivering pressurized oil to the roller bearing assembly is difficult due to the tight space constraints in the thrust bearing compartment for oil delivering tubes and nozzles.